Wamitotu school rooftops ripped off

—-Some 200 pupils at Wamitotu Primary School in senior chief Sailunga’s area in Mwinilinuga district have been learning from outside for three months following the ripping off of roofs from classroom blocks by a heavy thunderstorm and strong wind.

Acting school head teacher, Michael Kalubeni, told ZANIS in Solwezi today that on December 9, 2013 at night, heavy rains and a strong wind blew off the rooftops of classroom blocks.

Mr Kalubeni said he reported the matter to the District Education Board Secretary’s (DEBS) office that sent a buildings officer to the school to assess the impact but no action was taken.

He further stated that the Parent Teachers Association (PTA) held a meeting with Senior Chief Sailung’a over the issue and submitted a report to the DEBS’s office but never got any response.

The acting head teacher also complained that from 2011 when he was appointed to act as head
of the institution he had not received any allowance, yet he was teaching all grades single handed  from grade 1 to 7.
He wondered why the DEBS’s office had neglected the school so much that it could not even send teachers to the school to educate future leaders who are being subjected to such a hash learning environment.

Mr Kalubeni has since made a strong and passionate appeal to the government to move in quickly and repair the damaged infrastructure at Wamitotu Primary School.

When contacted for a comment, Provincial Education Officer, Jennipher Malama, said she was waiting for resources from the government to repair the damaged buildings, adding that there were a number of schools in the province with similar problems.

Ms Malama, however, advised the teachers to use alternative means such as Churche buildings for learning purposes as they await funding from the government.